sign in sign up
<<
Home , Art Deco, Chinese furniture, French furniture

Japanese and Chinese Influences on Jennifer L. Maatta

This paper examines the major role that Oriental art played in ers and plants. After the 1900 Exposition, the floralism of Art Art Deco . This influence took two forms: materials, Nouveau began to fall out of favor; however, its Austrian and techniques, forms, and motifs that were borrowed from the German counterparts known as and the Wiener Far East were either used directly or indirectly. Art Deco fur- Werkstätte continued to develop into more geometric forms niture which exemplifies direct borrowings are those works after 1902. which specifically incorporate Oriental forms and motifs. In- Art Deco has more in common, both stylistically and in direct borrowings are Far Eastern elements which became principle, with this later vein of . The underlying understood by makers as concepts and prin- principle of Jugendstil and the Werkstätte was the desire to be ciples; such indirect borrowings were then used to create new decorative and functional, a principle endangered by the ex- Western styles, not simply imitations or copies of Oriental cessive ornament of the organic Art Nouveau as it developed objects. in Belgium and France. In contrast, the German and Austrian To demonstrate this I will focus on seven artists—Jean styles were both symmetrical and geometric. It is a style that Dunand, Pierre Legrain, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, Leon looked forward to and the requirements of indus- Jallot, René Joubert, Philippe Petit, and . The first trial production. Its association between art and industry ac- six of these artists were represented at the 1925 International tually determined the program of the Art Deco movement to Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. Eileen come. Gray, who did not exhibit in the exposition, was, however, The general appearance Art Deco employs solid rectilin- working in in close connection with these six artists. ear forms, a simplification of lines, and bright color schemes. The Société des Artistes Décorateurs was a professional These appearances come from the underlying principles of association of architects, artisans, and designers founded in Art Deco. For instance, the form of Art Deco objects must the aftermath of the Universal Exposition of 1900.1 It was the derive from function, and decoration must be an integral part artists from this society who created the artistic principles of structure. Objects must also suit the conditions of modern which led to the production of the Art Deco style. The society life, which meant simple and functional furnishings with easy attempted to solve a broad range of problems experienced by upkeep. In keeping with these principles, concepts from the industries when the machine and the division of Far East became appealing to Art Deco artists because they labor had been introduced into the artistic process in the provided an approach to design which allows the form itself mid-19th century. The issues they addressed included coop- to become the decoration, especially in appreciation for the eration between artists, craftsmen and commercial manufac- richness of the materials themselves. turers, and the increasing international competition in the Influence from the East entered Art Deco through three luxury goods trade of which France had been, traditionally, different veins of French culture in the form of motifs, con- the leader. These issues led to a concentrated effort on the part cepts, and ideas. First, there was the influence Asia exhibited of French designers to define and develop a modern French in previous artistic styles, including Art Nouveau. Second, in style of decorative arts, and were the motivation behind the 1906 debuted in Paris and as journalist An- 1925 Exposition. The works discussed in this presentation span thony Weller put it, “ushered in a craze for anything Orien- a period of years surrounding the 1925 Exposition from 1910 tal.”2 Almost over night, the highly coloristic and sensual vein to 1930. of the East identified with the Ballets Russes became decora- Art Deco was influenced by Art Nouveau which flour- tive and fashion commodities. The ballet used Chinese char- ished during the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Exploiting acters as well as costumes and sets in Chinese styles.3 Third, the organic forms found in nature, Art Nouveau from Bel- because the production of luxury goods in France, as opposed gium and France relied on the twisting, curving lines of flow- to military armaments, was all but stopped due to World War

1 Yvonne Brunhammer and Suzanne Tise, The Decorative Arts in France: Early Modern French Furniture,” Architectural Digest: International La Société Des Artistes Décorateurs, 1900-1942 (New : Rizzoli, Magazine of Fine Interior Design (May 1984) 126. 1990) 7. 3 Lynn Garafola, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes ( and Oxford: Ox- 2 Anthony Weller, “Antiques: Classic Accent of Art Deco: Sleekly Styled ford UP, 1989) 287. ATHANOR XVIII JENNIFER L. MAATTA

I, a new pattern of financial and trading relationships devel- was lacquered by Dunand. Executed in a bright red , oped as industrial production outside of Europe increased dra- the cabinet has two that close by means of a pivoting matically, specifically as a new and greater influx of Asian pewter lock in a stylized floral design. The interior is com- products appeared.4 prised of twenty-four small file drawers in a lighter red lac- High quality, handcrafted Art Deco furniture must be con- quer. Frederick Brandt, from the Virginia Museum of Fine sidered luxury goods which were made for an exclusive clien- Art, speculates that “judging from its unusual design, and the tele willing to spend considerable sums. For example, Art Deco fact that it was a commissioned piece, the cabinet was likely scholar Victor Awars pointed out that “the average price of intended to hold certain of Doucet’s business records.”8 Sup- one of [Ruhlmann’s] beds or cabinets was frequently more porting this is the fact that the cabinet resembles a Japanese than the cost of a reasonably large house.”5 Because of this, functionary chest. Functionary chests were a special kind of the cost of materials was seldom a factor in determining what ledger chest in which important documents of feudal domains the object would look like. It is also important to understand and local officials were kept. Although functionary chests vary that Art Deco artists were often using many styles in conjunc- considerably in style, the basic design generally has a square tion with Oriental styles; they are not merely reproducing ex- front, double doors opening to multiple drawers, and heavy amples of Japanese or Chinese furniture since their clients metal fittings.9 could afford the originals. And, though the Orient had influ- Clearly, the technique and design of Legrain’s cabinet enced earlier furniture including Art Nouveau, Art Deco ap- are Japanese. However, the metal fittings on Legrain’s cabi- proaches Oriental influences from different angles and in a net are not as extensive or elaborate as those typically found new light from what had been done in preceding Western styles. on Japanese chests. In fact, they are not Oriental in style. Direct influences of Oriental art on Art Deco are to be Though the primary elements which make up the cabinet— found in forms and motifs taken from Eastern art; these forms its shape, doors, and general disposition of the drawers—are and motifs provide the most overt reference. However, because Japanese, some of the smaller details such as the stylized de- techniques and materials reinforce these visual elements, any sign of the metal work and the addition of metal feet give it discussion of Art Deco furniture which incorporates direct bor- away as a Western chest. rowings of them must also discuss the effect of technique and For the pair of bedside tables dated 1921, Dunand seems materials in enhancing those forms and motifs. to borrow from a Chinese model (Figure 3). The design of The most basic and traditional of Oriental furniture du- these black-lacquered tables resembles a style used by the plicated by Westerns is the screen. One of the earliest surviv- Chinese for a variety of small tables and stools, an example of ing screens is from a Chinese tomb. Dated 484 A.D., it is which can be seen in the (1368-1644) stool (Fig- painted with lacquer on wood.6 Screens continue to be found ure 4). Paradoxically, the Chinese borrowed the cabriole leg in Chinese and Japanese interiors as commonplace furniture. from the West. Apparently, Dunand simplified the form, elon- Perhaps because of this Dunand created an extensive array of gated the legs, and excluded the stretchers from them. In this lacquered screens. And as is common with Oriental screens, way, he returned to the West the cabriole legs but retained the Dunand decorated his screens using plants and animals (Fig- Chinese character in these bedside tables. ure 1). One example is a four-panel screen dated c. 1927. Wood While Dunand directly used forms, motifs, materials, and with a black lacquer ground, the screen depicts herons and techniques from Japanese and , he combined these frogs using silver, pink and gold lacquer.7 Other than being elements in ways foreign to Eastern artists. In that sense alone simply a natural scene, the heron, in particular, is a common the furniture is original. In addition, he combined Oriental Chinese . It can be seen in a screen dated 1691 (Figure elements in conjunction with various Occidental elements. This 2). In the Chinese screen the herons peck at mushrooms un- mesh of East and West led to a varying degree of direct Orien- der pine trees; in the sky are stylized clouds. While the Chi- tal influences within each piece. Dunand brought Oriental art nese screen is covered by the picture, Dunand pared his scene elements to the awareness of other artists of the Société, and down to 3 birds and a frog, thus leaving negative space and from there the influence spread. Ultimately, the concepts and simple lines to distinguish land from water. Dunand’s screen principles he learned and practiced became popular among incorporates multiple Oriental elements including the screen Art Deco artists in general. form itself, the lacquer technique, and the subject matter, yet Examples of indirect influences from the Orient on Art is distinctively original in his use of space. Deco furniture include those pieces in which principles of East- A cabinet was commissioned by the couturier and art pa- ern art are incorporated rather than providing a simple imita- tron Jacques Doucet and was a design by Pierre Legrain that tion or borrowing of forms and motifs. Recognizing such in-

4 T.C.W. Blanning, ed., The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern Europe 7 Anthony Delorenzo, Jean Dunand (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1985) 24. (Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 1996) 183. 8 Frederick R. Brandt, Late 19th and Early 20th Century Decorative Arts 5 Victor Awars, Art Deco (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1992) 56. (Richmond: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1989) 218.

6 Craig Clunas, Art in (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997) 39. 9 Kazuko Koizumi, Traditional Japanese Furniture (: Kodansha In- ternational Ltd., 1986) 77.

64 JAPANESE AND CHINESE INFLUENCES ON ART DECO

direct borrowings must entail an understanding of Eastern scabbards, but there is absolutely no doubt that Dunand was principles and concepts as they relate to things like the tech- the first to use eggshell to cover large surfaces and to create nique of lacquering, the use of materials, and basic forms, as white areas which could not be achieved with natural lac- well as principles of decoration. quers.14 As can be seen in a table by Dunand dated 1925, he Natural lacquer is a resin extracted from two trees from covered entire screens or tabletops in the meticulous technique the Far East.10 When collected and left to settle, impurities (Figure 7). Dunand also employed crushed eggshells on the fall to the bottom leaving a flat, translucent liquid that hard- dressing table designed by Ruhlmann (Figure 6). The effect ens and becomes brilliant when exposed to air. Black is the achieved was that of a minute crazy-paving, each piece of egg- foremost tone associated with the medium; a further range of shell set in by hand and separated by a hair’s-breadth thread colors can be achieved by the incorporation of vegetable dyes, of lacquer. though the palette is relatively limited. The second most com- While eggshells were the favored material by Dunand, mon color is a brownish red.11 was the most popular adopted by Art Deco artists. In the hands of Eileen Gray and Dunand the technique of Used extensively by Ruhlmann, fluted ivory ribs, ivory feet, lacquering became an integral part of the Art Deco Style. As key plates or handles, or simple whorl or circle patterns of mentioned earlier, Lacquer was used with pieces of furniture ivory dots set flush within the surface gave his furniture its which make reference to Oriental styles. However, Art Deco single touch of contrast other than the veneers he used. artists also used lacquer without making direct concessions to Art Deco artists also imported Asiatic woods. The am- the Oriental style. Such is the case with a chair by Dunand boyna and macassar were often used. Extensively used and a screen by Gray. A very modern engineered look, by Ruhlmann, these exotic woods became diffused through Dunand’s chair has a beige padded leather drop-in seat and a the Art Deco community as can be seen in a cabinet by Jallot. wood frame covered with brown lacquer (Figure 5). Dunand’s Even when Asiatic woods were not used, Oriental prin- have the best qualities of Oriental lacquer, but were ciples were still applied. Natural decorative motifs were cre- refreshed by his artistic keenness and originality when he left ated by taking advantage of the natural colors and textures of the lacquer undecorated.12 various types of non-Asiatic woods. Art Deco furniture fol- The screen, by Gray entitled “Le Destin” of 1914, fol- lows the principle of simplicity in form, although rich in sur- lowed Oriental examples in terms of material and techniques, face effects. The effects were achieved by exploiting the char- but in her design of lines and irregularly-cut segmental circles, acter of the various woods employed for their intrinsic deco- she merely made passing references to Japanese aspects. rative quality, sometimes in combination with inlay or other Through Dunand and Gray lacquering spread to other forms of decoration. A cabinet made of American burl walnut artists in the Société. Even Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, who is one of several by Ruhlmann which are bare except for large worked almost exclusively in wood, collaborated with Dunand metal locks. The locks, while depicting western style scenes, to create a few pieces in lacquer including a dressing table hark back to the heavy metal fittings on Japanese chests. Such and chair (Figure 6). A table with stools set by Legrain and a large areas of unadorned material were rarely found outside cabinet by Leon Jallot, both with strong reference to industry Asia but were commonly used by Ruhlmann. Jallot’s dinning and machine- made objects, were also lacquered. room table shows simplicity of strength and form and the heavy Inlaid materials were commonly used by Japanese and lines of Chinese furniture. The lines of the chairs are severe Chinese furniture designers; they used many semi-precious but beautiful. materials including mother-of-pearl, carnelian, , ivory, Flat surfaces and proportioned masses are defining prin- quartz, , agate, turquoise, and coral.13 Art Deco ciples in the decoration of both Oriental and Art Deco furni- artists recognized the qualities and the stylistic advantages of ture. Generally, Western tradition superimposed ornamenta- using these materials and began to incorporate them in their tion and dominated material, while the concept of truth to own work. materials was a long-standing Eastern tradition; Art Deco art- They began using exotic materials from all over the world ists inherited this idea as a basic principle. including inlays and woods from the Far East. Dunand re- Though the overall visual effect of the furniture was mod- vived the spectacular Oriental technique of inlaying particles ern, in a less obvious way Art Deco owed a lot to Oriental of crushed eggshells. This method had already been used by influences: the geometrical patterns and simplicity of form the Japanese to highlight decorative details on sword-hilts and and honest expression of materials.15

10 Delorenzo 17. Kodansha International, 1979) 114.

11 Philippe Garner, “The Laquer Work of Eileen Gray and Jean Dunand,” 14 Felix Marcilhac, Jean Dunand: His Life and Works (New York: Harry N. The Connoisseur 183 (May 1973) 3. Abrams, Inc., 1991) 174.

12 Gardner Teall, “Screens and Furniture by Jean Dunand,” Harper’s Ba- 15 John M. Mackenzie, : History, Theory and the Arts (Manches- zaar (April 1928) 114. ter: UP, 1995) 99, and Alastair Duncan American Art Deco (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1985) 31. 13 Michel Beurdeley, Chinese Furniture, trans. Katherine Watson (Tokyo:

65 A1, IANOR XVIII JENNIFER L. MAAlTA

Direct borrowing of Japanese and Chinese fonns and mo­ tant part of Art Dcco's continuing growth. Both directly and tifs were laid over a typical Art Deco fra mework. Indirect bor­ indirectly Art Deco artists used Oriental art elements as a ve­ rowing of techniques, materials and stylistic principles fil­ hjcle to reconcile tradition and . tered through the Art Deco community becoming an impor- Virginia Commonwealth University

Figure I. Jean Dunand. Her'QJtSmad Frogs, rour•pancl screen., wood wilh sih·er. pink. gold lacquer oo black lacquer ground. 170 x 200 cm, c. 1927. l

Pigurc 2. Chinese scn.x-n. lacquer on wood. 169 1. Muse< des an.s asialiques--Guimcl, Parise Pho10 RMN. 66 JAPANESE AND CHINESE INl!t.,UEN'CES ON ART OECO

figure 3. Jean Dwutnd. p3il' of bedside t.'l.bles, black lacquer, heighl 80cm. 1921. Gnkrie Valk>is. Paris.

Figure 4. Chinese 1:i.blc/s1001, lacquer inlaid with mother-of­ pt.•-nrl, Jiajing period. 1522-66. Musee des ans asiatiqucs-Guimct, 1>arisOPhoto RMN. 67 ATHANOR XVII JENNIFER L. MAATTA

Figure 5. Jean Dunand, armchair, brown lacquer with beige leather seat, 67 x 60 x 55 cm, 1927. Reprinted by kind permission of the Delorenzo Collection.

Figure 6. Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, Chinoise, vanity table, black lacquer inlaid with white eggshells by Jean Dunand, 1927. Reprinted by kind permission of the Delorenzo Collection. 68 JAPANESE AND CHINESE INFLUENCES ON ART DECO

Figure 7. Jean Dunand, coffee table, black lacquer, top decorated with eggshell mosaic, 45 x 155 x 75 cm., c. 1925. Reprinted by kind permission of the Delorenzo Collection.

69